Behind Closed Doors
by Caiti
Summary: After all the teardrops recovered, and Mahiru is shipped off to live for a month at the Lunar Palace for a Month. Lives are challenged, but so are their hearts...
1. Chapter 1: One Month

**I**t was one of those days where it was postcard perfect, it was one of those days where anyone who knew about it would want to be outside. Cloudless, the sky was a blue and open beckon with the bronze glow of sunlight washing the streets and emphasizing the casual birdsong. Crisp, cool autumn air rolled through the open windows along with a fiery-colored leaf or two. It didn't stop the car's interior from seeming particularly gloomy and stuffy even with the fresh air rolling in and out of the windows. It was quiet in there, maybe even a little bit too quiet.

Mahiru sat back in the cool gray seat, letting the wind do what it would with her short beige hair. It was refreshing to feel the wind against her face, refreshing to relax now that the teardrops had been found and the worst of the fiasco was over. The silence unsettled even her, unbreakable in its ways. She did the next best thing, glancing over at Mitsuru in a way she hoped was discreet. So much had changed, and yet so little- he didn't seem to notice her at all. Her dark aqua-haired hero had his chin resting on the palm of his hand while he stared blankly out the window. He had that bitter little frown she'd come to adore, one that couldn't help but make her smile the tiniest bit.

"Princess," A gentle, quiet voice called to her. "We're almost there." Mahiru had been caught off guard as she turned to face the speaker, flustered by her own thoughts. It had been Misoka, who seemed far more at ease than she.

"Oh, yes!" She chirped, smiling that warm smile that had helped to win over the Moonlight Bandits. Still there was something awkward about her response, causing her to looking down at her feet for what must have been the fourteenth time that car ride; not that she was counting. Misoka adjusted his glasses, and she had to wonder if he somehow knew how scared she was. She would be okay, she reminded herself, it would be okay.

"Mahiru, you know you don't have to do this." Purred a casual voice, one she recognized right away as Nozumo's. He'd been sitting next to her for the whole trip appearing as relaxed as he ever was, but she caught the subtle worry in his calmly reassuring smile. The blonde-haired, fair-eyed vampire had introduced her to the crew that had become her best friends and even her family. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his, wondering if he could feel how afraid she was right now- if any of them could.

"I..." She paused a moment, "I want to go." She lied, and she'd always been a bad liar. Having told herself this one a couple too many times, she sounded convincing, at least to her own ears. "I've always wanted to see the Moon Palace!" She spoke eagerly putting on a brave smile for all of them, and maybe herself, too.  
"I haven't." Mitsuru snapped, not bothering to look away from his window. He was going with her even though he didn't want to, and this helped ease Mahiru just a little bit more. She'd have him by her side, and because of that she knew that she would one alright.

"You don't have to go, either." Slyly, Nozumo offered a particularly charming and photogenic smirk as he turned to get a good look at Mitsuru. "I'd be happy to go with the Princess."

The tengu had turned to face the vampire with a low growl building up from the back of his throat like a feral animal's, glowering against Nozumo's casual stare. "Yeah, well-"

"Hey! Hey, look!" Almost breaking the melancholy mood, a cheerful voice interrupted the unspoken war. The resident werewolf, Akira, was leaning half way out the third row window and enjoying the autumn air to its fullest. The piercings on his face didn't do anything to tone down his enthusiasm in those bright tawny eyes. "It's the shrine!"

Despite everything that had happened with Keiko, the shining boy was well on his way to mending. Despite his cheerful outburst and temporary break in mood, the atmosphere soured into something far more melancholy and far quieter than it had been before. Reality was creeping closer, and Mahiru felt its tug on her. Still, she managed to keep her head up, to catch the look of each of her dear friends and keep it. Her eyes were even softer than usual, tears threatening her as she looked at them and all the memories. "I'm going to miss you all." Her voice was soft, but it didn't break.

Mitsuru bristled visibly at this, grunting in a noncommittal way and looking back out the window twice as brooding as he had been before. There was a long moment of quiet, one that seemed to last for hours though it couldn't have been more than a couple of seconds. Nozumo was the ice-breaker, speaking on behalf of all of them. "We'll miss you, too, Princess."

The Emperor, Lord Shirogane, had really been very kind about the whole thing. He seemed genuinely pleased that she was coming to live in the palace for a month, maybe he'd even been hoping for it what with how cleanly it was arranged. No one knew how it was going to go, and there was the heavy but unspoken threat that everything could go wrong. Thankfully, she wouldn't be going alone- she had Mitsuru to go with her, and Oboro, too! The others had to keep watch over the nightclub, separating them into different worlds. The permanence of that became concrete as the car rolled to a stop in one awkward moment that Mahiru was glad to see pass.

"We'd better leave soon, Princess." Oboro's face was gentle, kind, just like his voice. He'd turned so that he could face them all from the passenger seat. He bowed his head in a gesture of respect to her, one that still managed to surprise her no matter how many times it happened. "I only ask that you do what you will; I'll be waiting for you."

"Uh..." At a loss for words, Mahiru drew back when she heard Oboro's door shut behind him.

This alone seemed to irritate Mitsuru, who opened his door coldly and calmly enough. He slammed it with just as much violence, something so typical of him Mahiru couldn't help but giggle a little bit- she couldn't help it! She was glad that he was going to go with her, glad that she still had him by her side. She wasn't so glad when she felt her door come sliding open, turning her head to look up at Mitsuru who had opened it for her. Wordlessly, he offered her his hand in a gesture that would normally have the other bandit's teasing him without reservation. Just as quietly, she slipped her hand into his and allowed herself to slide out of the car- or she almost did, at least. Something seemed to pull at her, causing her to pause and look back at the faces she was going to miss. Mitsuru, of course, gave them all a look that was meant to kill.

"You'll be fine." Purred Nozumo, looking up at her with that charming, unreadable little smile of his. That was the catalyst, the one that had Akira staring at her like a pitiful puppy and hanging half way over the seat. Childlike, maybe, but she could see the sacrifice behind those tawny eyes of his that had been so joyful a moment ago.

"Mahiru..." Akira whined, as emotional as Misoka was stoic. Misoka slowly turned his head, casting a serious glance to match his words.

"Tell the emperor and Auntie that I said hello." It was the most casual thing he had ever requested of her, and despite this he held up his calm dignity- something Akira sadly lacked as he wiped his nose on his sleeve.

Mahiru just beamed, "I will!" She managed to get her other foot out of the car, but it was hard to move. She didn't want to leave them, not at all, but her face was bright red from all the kindness and attention she was receiving. They were always all so kind to her, she had to say something. "It'll be great," she insisted even as Mitsuru pulled her awkwardly out of the car with a firm jerk. Stumbling to catch her balance, her next words surprised her. "I love you all!"

It was such a simple, complex thing to say. Baffled at her words, even Kasura turned to look at her from the driver's seat with a silent but rewarding smile. Akira whimpered pitifully, hanging over the seat like a rag doll for a moment before suddenly flinging himself half way out the window so that he very nearly invaded her private space. "We love you, too, Princess!" He called loudly, sincere as he'd ever been. Nozumo chuckled in good humor even as Misoka gave a quiet glance of disapproval to the werewolf. However, Akira wasn't going to be the only one who was catching dirty glances quite soon enough.

"I had no idea you felt so strongly," Purred Nozumo, exclusively acting as though it had been only him who had been told the words. He winked at her, but he had to have known it wasn't like that! She hadn't meant it like that, and it wasn't as though-

"Nozumo!" A chorus of voices scolded the vampire at once; poor Mahiru felt her face was already redder than a beat. Nozumo just gave another small chuckle. He leaned forward a little, taking her hand so that she turned to look at him. Unaffected, unabashed, he held her eyes with his own and allowed himself the luxury of scooting forward to get a good look at her one more time. He placed a hand on her cheek gently, smiling a sad smile. "I really will miss you, Princess." Nozumo spoke simply, but powerfully. Mitsuru gave Nozumo a look of such loathing that it might as well have been a death sentence. Mitsuru glared at Nozumo so that if looks could kill, he would be six feet under. Unforgiving of the affectionate little display, Mitsuru tugged on Mahiru's hand and pulled her closer to himself, leering at them all one last time before slamming the door shut.

Mahiru took a moment to steady herself, relying on Mitsuru for a moment while she caught her balance. She'd gone blissfully unaware of the tengu's protective action, though it was clear that he was sulking when he passed her a look not entirely dissimilar to the look he'd given Nozumo earlier. "You don't go around saying that so casually, damnit!" He hissed at her, grabbing her hand just a little bit tighter. He didn't let go, and even if Mahiru didn't understand what he meant, she was glad that he held her hand.

"It will be good for them to see you, Mahiru." Oboro spoke in that fatherly way of his, smoothing out the situation by his presence alone. It also drew her back to what was coming, to where she was going, and all the things that could happen.

"It'll be fine! It will be good to see the Emperor again." She responded, chipper as always. She knew it wasn't right to just call him Shirogane in the company of others, especially with someone who was as honorable as Oboro. She felt Mitsuru's hand slip away, watching as the two of them took their first steps away from the car. She looked over her shoulder as through the windows that had long since been rolled down. She waved, smiling, but it was still a little bit sad.

"C'mon, you dork." Half-scolded Mitsuru, cupping her head in his hand as he pulled her back, dragging her along a little at first up on to the shrine steps. Soon, she was gone.

The car felt empty, terribly empty. One by one, they each slipped into their own private grief, mourning over the temporary loss of their makeshift family and princess. Akira hung his face out the window and gave a quiet whine as he stared at the shrine, lonely even in spite of the brilliant trees and perfect weather. Nozumo looked over the nearly empty row of seats he had and allowed himself to fall back on them, his fair eyes half closed and glazed over in thought as he stared at the roof of the car. The only one who wasn't so obviously affected was Misoka, who looked out his closed window with only the vaguest hints of worry buried in his stoic expression.

"Well, that was interesting!" Laughed Katsura, trying to light up the dampened mood, shifting the car's gears back into drive. Lurching forward, moving on- like Oboro, she (or at least she was a she for now) aimed to help smooth things over.

"It would be better if we could send Koumouri-san." Nozumo replied flatly, thoughtfully as his eyes narrowed just the tiniest fraction.

"Oh, c'mon! She'll be fine; she has Mitsuru and Oboro with her!" Her audience was unimpressed; they were all such stubborn boys. She allowed herself a turn to sigh, exasperated. "We can check on things tonight," She saw Akira perk up just a fraction, while Misoka seemed to grow less tense. Score. "We can check on things tonight once we're back at Moonshine. I promised Oboro that I would, anyway."

"Really?!" Akira seemed to fill with life again, his brown eyes gleaming joyfully at the prospect of seeing them both. If he'd had a tail at the moment he'd be wagging it, the same way that his ears would have perked, but he could only stare at Katsura raptly from his seat.

"Really." Katsura assured shortly, amused with the little werewolf and pleased he was so capable at manipulating the atmosphere.

It was a long drive back home to Moonshine, but at least now they had something to look forward to. It'd be fine; after all, it was just going to be one month...


	2. Chapter 2: And So It Begins

"**U**m... Mitsuru?" Mahiru timidly called, her voice a bit dimmed but a curious. Two simple red barrettes were holding back a few long strands of blonde hair from her blue eyes; her hair was pretty short so she didn't have to fuss with it much. She had been working on growing it out recently, though. The 16-Year-Old girl had been involved with the Lunar Race for almost two years now. Unfortunately, she'd been summoned to the Lunar Castle recently because Lord Shirogane had missed much of what had gone on when she first met the Lunar Race. This would be her first real formal encounter with Lord Shirogane and the rest of the royal family.  
"..Hm?" Mitsuru grunted distantly, turned away from her and distracted. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his tattered jeans, turning his head a little so he could glance over his shoulder at her. She hadn't responded right away like she usually did.  
"…What!" He demanded hotly, pressured on by her large eyes looking at him like she was trying to figure out what was wrong with him without asking. A red blush crawling over his pale cheeks as he looked away again. He had immediately become defensive at Mahiru's curious expression.  
"Oh, nothing really... You just seem a little bothered by something, is everything okay?" She asked cautiously, learning how to be careful with her words when it came to talking to Mitsuru; he could be so touchy sometimes! She backed up a little to give Mitsuru some space; she already knew that he was uncomfortable here. She smiled kindly, adjusting the heavy plastic bag in her hands. Although she seemed content in knowing Mitsuru was just fine and still himself- Mitsuru felt pressured to say something more. He stared blankly at the tile, debating with himself if he should say something in return.

"It's nothing really-" Mitsuru started to say but stalled. He heard himself walking, but she wasn't walking anymore, he looked back again to see her looking over some of the other goods in the medieval-looking market place. Of course, she was also oblivious to the strange black werewolf towering over her and looking at her like she was little more than a snack herself. "Hey, you freak! You can't just stand there and space out like that- you're going to get yourself kidnapped!" Mitsuru snapped, immediately leaning over and grabbing her by the wrist to pull her forward and away from many demon's curious eyes. They didn't deserve to look at her anyway.  
"I'm supposed to protect you- are you trying to die or something?" He demanded, realizing that Mahiru had no idea of the danger she was facing here just because she was a human. It didn't matter if she was the Princess' Descendant, it didn't matter if she had rounded up the Teardrops, and as long as she was human she was in danger.  
"I was just going to get Lord Shirogane som-" Mahiru started to say, getting a little defensive about having been dragged off unwillingly. "Are you trying to die!" Barked Mitsuru angrily all over again, his grip tightening on her wrist. Realization sunk in, and he noticed Mahiru's almost invisible distress as she grew quiet and started to look a little worried.  
"Mitsuru sneered, leaving it there and releasing her fragile wrist. He stopped walking, turning to face her and glancing into her eyes. He sighed, frustrated by her naiveté. "Look, I'm just saying you need to be a little more alert or you're going to get yourself kidnapped, or something." He kept himself occupied by snatching the plastic bag from her hands. It already looked like it was going to break, and he was stronger than she was.  
"Sorry, I just guess I wasn't looking where I was going." Said Mahiru, a hint of hurt lingered in her voice. She was worried she had upset, angered or displeased Mitsuru. More than that, she was ashamed she couldn't be more aware of herself, even knowing what odds she was going against. Her eyes drifted to her empty hands, pretending not to notice that she didn't have the bag anymore.

"Just be more alert next… time…" His voice trailed off, catching sight of where she'd been holding the bag. A bloody wound opening on her palm- something bound to attract even more unwanted demons. His expression changed completely, staring at her injured state, frustrated at himself that he had let her get hurt by some dumb bag. She really was fragile."Mahiru I-" Mitsuru stopped abruptly, catching himself in time to shut up. His colorless eyes widening, he hadn't thought before spoke, his voice had sounded sincere and sensitive toward the girl who was picking up some nearby items she found interesting. He felt his heart beat faster, and he hated it at every beat as it thundered through his ears.  
"Yes?" She asked, looking up from her 'shopping'. She noticed Mitsuru's wide-eyed expression, was something wrong? Had she said something to upset him again! Oh no… She'd probably gotten some food he hated!  
"Oh um..! Don't worry it's just a small scratch is all, I'm fine really! Is this about the food! I can go get something else if you would rather-"  
"…Just forget it." He said, almost too quietly for her to hear. Forcing himself to look away from her, "You buy everything you want yet?" "No," She replied sheepishly, smiling wistfully to herself. "I still have to get a gift for Oboro and all the others... After all they've done for me it's the least I could do."

"Idiot." Growled Mitsuru in frustration, combing his hand through his messy black hair. He shut his eyes and gave a loud, irritated sigh- how could she be so stupid!  
"Can't you worry about that later?" Hissed Mitsuru with a streak of urgency. She had other, better things to do- besides it wasn't like he didn't deserve something for himself. Why was she always thinking about everyone else? Couldn't she bother to think about him for a change?  
"That might be wise." Murmured a deep, husky voice from nearby.  
"I didn't ask you-" Mitsuru started to say, cutting himself off as he looked at the speaker. It was that same black werewolf, his smoldering reddish eyes drifting from Mitsuru down to Mahiru. His lips curled back in a smile, his jagged teeth glinting down at her. She didn't mean to come off as afraid, though she did, squeaking timidly she slipped behind Mitsuru who raised an arm to the side to defend her if necessary. "What the hell do you want?" Growled Mitsuru, creating a small wind around himself as a warning.

His eyes were large, bright red, and the pupils were thin cat-like slits, narrowing slightly at Mitsuru's unspoken warning. Though he did take a step backwards, he fought back the urge to growl at this Tengu.  
_'How dare he show such insolence!'_ He willed himself to keep calm, though the hackles on his back started rising anyway, his back hunching into a defensive pose.  
"I beg your pardon?" He asked gruffly, standing at his full height of at least seven feet and smoothing out the fur on his back. He looked confused, his ears pinning back.  
"I asked you what the hell you wanted with us." Mitsuru smirked; this one was deaf and stupid.  
Mahiru risked a timid glance over Mitsuru's shoulder, looking up at the Werewolf in front of them. He was huge, intimidating.

His matted black bangs hung in his face; his hair was long pulled back in a messy braid that was twisted over his back. Strings, ribbons, and smaller braids were all curled into this big braid held by one red rubber band. A white mark was blazed on his forehead, shaped like a V with a dot in the center and a line across it. His face and muzzle were slim, and there were three white dots under each eye- sort of like freckles though they looked a little bit more like tattoos. One of his ears had a few white speckles on it, a blank coin attached to it by a silky blue string.  
He was skinny, too! No abs, muscles or anything, not like one would expect on a werewolf anyway. He wasn't as well defined as Akira, though there were a few similarities here and there. She realized that he had a red collar stretched around his neck with a small pink heart, his name etched in white.  
"Rasta..." She read it aloud.  
It was only then that she realized that he wasn't wearing anything at all, and maybe she would have noticed more if she hadn't noticed he was naked and hadn't felt like he was out to kill her. Mahiru went bright red in the face, ducking even more behind Mitsuru. Mahiru started to ease up; she wasn't as scared as she was before though she still didn't know what to think. She held her breath, clutching the back of Mitsuru's shirt in worry.

"Tengu Mitsuru and Princess Mahiru right?" Purred the werewolf, leaning back a bit, not having to bend over to get a good look at them. "I'm Rasta, your guide to the Moon Palace."  
Mahiru's grip eased, and Mitsuru's jaw dropped. This thing was their guide! Her bodyguard! This thing that had looked like he was going to kill her not two minutes ago! There was no way in hell he would let this pass- his eyes narrowed and the wind whipped up around them, his eyes gaining those familiar red swirls.  
"Don't you dare touch her!" Growled Mitsuru, two thick black lines appearing on his cheeks- he would kill this thing if he had to.  
"That won't be necessary." Came Rasta's voice, thick with unamusement. "My orders are from Lord Shirogane, Sir Mitsuru." The word sir had a certain amount of sarcasm in it, it was easy to see that this whole thing had started off on the wrong foot.  
"Um..." Mahiru started to say, stepping cautiously up from behind Mitsuru, who restrained himself only for her sake, struggling not to go all out on this stupid little puppy. Seeing her step out brought a strangely pleased glint to his eye, the corners of his mouth pulling up into a knowing grin.  
"Princess Mahiru... It's a pleasure." His voice rumbled into a pleased purr, getting down onto his knees, settling into a crouch. Bending over into a slight bow, his ears pinned back once again. "It's a pleasure to be of service."

Mitsuru felt his anger bubbling to the surface, his hands curling into threatening fists. How dare he... Mahiru's gentle hands glided over his shoulders, and he could feel his emotions being pushed back, glaring down at the puppy kneeling at her feet.  
"I don't think he's lying to us, Mitsuru. I don't think it's something that they'd try to fake here." She whispered urgently into his ear, he glanced over at the busy market; she had a point. The people here wouldn't fake something like that, such high respect for a human was met with rebellion if not downright profanity. He was risking his hide for helping them at all, seeing as how most of the other creatures here probably wanted Mahiru dead.  
"Fine... But if you touch her, don't expect my mercy." Warned Mitsuru.  
"Oh no, I wouldn't dream of it." Rasta merely lifted his head and gave Mitsuru a sarcastic smile.

**W**hen the Moonlight Bandits cruised back into town, it was raining. Not one of them saw it as an omen- just unavoidable, it rained often enough in Japan. The car ride home had been eerily quiet, but that had also been expected. Katsura ended up turning on the radio, and each one of them fell off into their own private world of thoughts for a little while. Akira had even dozed off, but when he woke up he was as chipper and talkative as ever. Nozumo politely gave "Mmm"s and "Aaah"s when the time called for them, and Misoka stayed completely silent.

Nozumo stared out the car window, wishing the dreary day would hurry up and end. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be a shadowy patch calling out for him to lie in it. How much harder would it be to keep from dozing off once they got back to Moonshine? It wasn't as though Nozumo actually slept, but he did rest. Nozumo rubbed the back of his neck, getting tired of exclusively devoting his attention to his thoughts. He already missed Mahiru, and the more he tried to press it out of his mind the more it kept on bugging him. He sighed and tried to focus on what Akira was babbling about this time.

Akira was animatedly making sweeping hand gestures, literally talking a mile a minute.   
"We should write a song for her too, as a surprise for when she comes back!" Akira suggested proudly, winking studiously at no one in particular. Nozumo lifted his head a little bit, raising a thin brow at Akira's suggestion, his blue eyes smoldering with a fiery curiosity. It was a simple idea, but the thought of doing it caused him to smile to himself. A simple, good idea.  
"That's not a bad idea." Nozumo agreed quietly.  
"You'd help us, too, wouldn't you Misoka?" Asked Akira eagerly, grinning ear to ear with his stroke of brilliance.  
"Of course." Misoka murmured, turning his head to glance at them with a rare smirk. Even if they were idiots, he respected them. They had saved his hide, even when he wasn't worth anything in battle.  
"I'm sure the Princess would like that very much," Complimented Katsura calmly from the front. "We're back." He announced, the car slowly coming to a stop in front of Moonshine.

Misoka's smirk disappeared; it wouldn't be long until they had to start working. Clearing away some of his long dark green hair and tucking it behind his ear casually he risked a glance at the digital clock, "One hour until opening time."  
"Crap!" Exclaimed Akira, practically leaping out of his seat. His amber eyes wide with alarm, that wasn't much time to set everything up. Without any regard for the rain, Akira opened the door and raced out into the parking lot his coppery hair dampened down very quickly, his clothes sticking to his skin. Akira paused at the doorway to Moonshine, fumbling through his pockets desperately for the keys. Finding them he beamed, unlocking the door and racing in eagerly. Akira had always been very fond of the job, and very engrossed in it- Nozumo was relieved to see that hadn't changed. Nozumo glanced over at Misoka knowingly, hesitating.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go." Instructed Misoka, picking up an umbrella off the car's floor and slipping out of the door with a surprising grace. He opened the umbrella, standing a few feet away from the car, waiting for Nozumo. Nozumo slipped out next, ducking under the safety of the umbrella and closing the car door behind him. The engine gave a roar, and the car slipped away, heading towards the safe, dry parking garage. Nozumo slipped the umbrella into his own hands, and glancing down at Misoka he winked at him grinning in that charming way of his. Misoka fought back the urge to roll his eyes, "I don't see why you waste your time."  
"Is there a reason I shouldn't?" Asked Nozumo, chuckling to himself as he escorted Misoka over to the door.

One hour before it all started.

**Authors Note: B**efore anyone starts eating my face, this is not a Mary-Sue/Gary-Lou or whatever. ;) You don't have to worry; Mahiru will not be paired up with Rasta or any fan-character. Either way, whoever's added will be essential to the up-coming plot. Yes, there actually is a plot! -Gasp- Shocking, I know... Thanks for the reviews last time around, I'd love to get more! Anything I can do to improve, let me know. I'd also love to hear your opinions on other things about the story.


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